Wheels OFF The Driveway
Yesterday marked the end of our ‘wheels on the driveway’ streak. We made it over a month without going anywhere.
I remember when spending one whole weekend without making a trip to the store was a big deal. Now I can’t wait to beat the ‘one month’ record. That may have to wait. My son comes to visit in April. Hmmm, maybe he can take a taxi from the airport (just kidding Char). Plus, I’ve put off finding a job for long enough, sigh. In retrospect, it was a very pleasant experience, not going anywhere.
For our trip into town, Lance brought the camera. I had hopes of documenting our ‘big day in CdA’. Sadly, I took 2 photos, then the camera got buried under our stash of provisions. It turned rainy and yucky later, so you didn’t miss much in the way of photos.
First stop, local dumpsters at the Valley Mart. Keep in mind we don’t have trash pick up out here in the boonies. What we don’t burn or feed to the wildlife gets tossed in the back of Big Red (Lance’s truck), awaiting a trip out of the neighborhood. I hopped out to take a picture of him tossing 6 weeks worth of trash into the local dumpster (what I won’t do to avoid slinging garbage). Heck, even the view from the dumpster is pretty!
The drive into town went fast (easy for the passenger to say). First stop, McDonald’s! Lance got his greasy fast food fix for breakfast and I got my favorite cup of coffee. Next, UPS, then Lowes. I can’t even remember the last time we were at Lowes. I bet their earnings took a nose dive in February. We use to spend so much money (and time) there. I’m happy to report we now own a maul (see Wood Chopping 101) and 2 more cheapo adirondack chairs (the nice patio set will have to wait till our ship comes in). Wal-Mart got our money next (that’s when the camera went missing, under the bags).
Feeling rather smug that we’ve gotten so much accomplished so far, we decide to go furniture shopping. I’ve been looking for a sleeper sofa on Craigslist for 3 months (ever since we sold the guest mattress and turned the extra bedroom into a pantry). I don’t know if you’ve ever shopped for couches on Craigslist. It can be rather entertaining and downright depressing at the same time. We decide to stop into a local furniture store on the main strip in Coeur d’Alene. After hunting down a sales guy (they specialize in no pressure sales, here). Conrad takes us to the TWO pieces of furniture that they have to sleep on, waaaay in the back. Lance pulls out the bed from the couch and proceeds to lay down. That doesn’t surprise me. What does, is, he lays there for almost 20 minutes. Hmmm, I think our trip into town is taking its toll. So, I stand and make conversation with the Conrad while Lance chills. I love this man (my husband, not the salesman).
We shop a few more stores, learn about bonded leather (who knew) and decide it’s time to feed me. After a tasty lupper at Chili’s (ole’, it’s FajitaRita Monday). Next, we hit Costco. This is where we both lose steam. Maybe it’s the full tummies. Maybe it’s the heavy cart. With a full belly and buggy, we cram $400 worth of provisions on top of the Wal-Mart pile of bags in the backseat of the cab. Having a truck is nice, but who wants soaking wet groceries? Being home, out of the rain, couldn’t come soon enough.
It was nice to get out and about, but it was even nicer to get home! Today (Tuesday), we feasted on baked potatoes with the missing link (cottage cheese). For dinner, we dined on artichokes. Have you read up on how nutritious these delicious spiked bulbs are? We’re both draggin’. That trip into civilization wore us out. We’re both quite content to stay put for a good, long, while.
